In recent years, many have said that Leeds United and Bayern Munich are the most commercially successful clubs in European football.
The two teams operate in very similar ways.
For example, both strictly control player salaries and benefits, often choosing to let key players leave rather than renew contracts at higher wages.
Another similarity lies in their business models.
It's hard to say who learned from whom first, but Leeds United and Bayern Munich were among the first to adopt a branch office model—a business development approach that directly engages with fans and consumers. Even now, many top European clubs still rely on agency-based systems. While more convenient and less labor-intensive, they depend on third parties.
Interestingly, Leeds United has established branches in North America, Asia, China, the Middle East, and other regions, much like Bayern Munich.
But there are differences.
For instance, when the Bundesliga champions saw Leeds United making massive profits from jersey sales, they looked back at their own... well, not sponsors, but financial backers.
Bayern could only sigh with regret.
There's another similarity between the two: neither club has been involved in internal conflicts, giving off the impression of being tightly unified—something quite rare in European football.
Their merchandise strategies are also unique.
If you scroll through Leeds United's sponsors, you'll find a wide range of smaller brands collaborating with the club. Some put the Leeds United logo on their products, while others develop exclusive merchandise sold through the official store and app.
After years of effort, a comprehensive and mature commercial ecosystem has been built.
From snacks, drinks, and alcohol to toiletries like shower gel, shampoo, and toilet paper, to children's toys, luggage, lamps, small appliances, and furniture, everything is available through Leeds United's official store.
All items carry the Leeds United label, carefully selected by the club's retail department, with guaranteed quality and competitive pricing.
The model resembles that of Costco, but tailored to Leeds United's fanbase.
This is also a key business project being driven by Fernando Lucas, originating from Gao Shen's earlier vision of turning Leeds United into a platform.
Today, this model is widely embraced by fans around the world. Whether you order from the fan shop at Amazon Stadium, use the app, or shop via Amazon or local e-commerce sites, you can access Leeds United's products and earn membership points.
This membership entitles fans to special club benefits, such as tickets to key matches or exclusive merchandise.
More than a year after its launch, this model has become very popular and a powerful growth engine.
Naturally, other top teams have taken notice.
But most clubs simply can't replicate what Leeds United has done.
Real Madrid, for example, has also set up global branches, but the way they operate is completely different. Their branch operations lack the same authority and structure, making it hard for them to emulate Leeds United's approach.
Bayern Munich, however, shares many of these traits.
So this time, with the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals being held at Leeds United's Amazon Stadium, Bayern Munich, led by Chairman Rummenigge and joined by board members including Kahn—soon to succeed him as chairman—visited in full force to study Leeds United's commercial model.
Gao Shen and the club welcomed them warmly, hosting a banquet for Rummenigge's group and guiding them on a tour of Amazon Stadium and the fan shop.
Today, the area around Amazon Stadium is the busiest shopping and entertainment district in Leeds and even all of Yorkshire, buzzing even on non-match days. On matchdays, it becomes packed.
Many fans bring their families and arrive early to enjoy the experience as a full-day outing.
This surprised the Bayern delegation, including Rummenigge.
Allianz Arena is considered one of the best-managed home grounds in Europe, yet compared to Amazon Stadium, it suddenly felt lacking. No wonder Leeds United's home matchday revenue is through the roof.
It's not just the Westfield Shopping Centre nearby. Leeds United's management of the stadium and its facilities, combined with its thoughtful fan services, all contribute to drawing more fans to the venue.
Some fans even spend the whole day there.
After touring the stadium, Rummenigge and his team were both impressed and a bit overwhelmed.
In terms of ticket revenue, Bayern is relatively weak. Leeds United, though not charging high ticket prices, still generates more income overall.
More importantly, Leeds United has many hardware and software features that Bayern currently lacks.
So much so that Rummenigge sighed at the end of the visit.
"From a commercial perspective, I'm afraid it'll be very hard for us to catch up with Leeds United."
What he meant was that they would aim to beat Leeds on the pitch instead.
...
Strictly speaking, Bayern Munich and Leeds United share a similar tactical style. Both are attacking teams that play fast, two-way football with an emphasis on speed and technique.
Their philosophies align, but the tactical setups differ.
Leeds United sticks to a 4-3-3, while Bayern Munich prefers a 4-2-3-1.
Flick's team is somewhat of a throwback to the Heynckes era, though it's really a compromise due to necessity.
German centre-back Niklas Süle is a strong defender. He stands 195 cm tall and weighs close to 200 kg, like a moving tank.
His physical presence gives him an edge defensively, but the downside is his poor turning speed.
That's a big problem.
So Bayern pairs him with a more agile defender—Alaba.
Lucas Hernandez joined for a club-record fee. He's a hard-pressing, aggressive defender, but he's a bit reckless and lacks quality in passing, which limits his role in the team.
This is why Alaba's contract renewal is in limbo.
He knows how vital he is to Bayern and is asking for a higher salary, but the club won't meet his demands.
That's a normal part of negotiations.
The decision to rely on Süle comes with a downside: limited mobility at the back. This puts more pressure on the midfield.
Neither Goretzka nor Kimmich alone can provide enough cover.
So Bayern uses two holding midfielders.
This double pivot helps stabilize the defense, but it also causes issues in the midfield setup.
Both Kimmich and Goretzka need to cover the defense, and neither excels at carrying the ball forward. Their pairing limits Bayern's midfield progression.
Everyone knows Thomas Müller doesn't offer that either.
So Bayern's build-up options are limited.
They can either go down the flanks with Coman and Sané, or rely on Lewandowski dropping deep.
Both approaches have obvious weaknesses.
Especially against Leeds United.
In his previous life, Bayern did create a very dangerous attack against Barcelona.
But Leeds United are not Barcelona.
Leeds has Haaland, Rashford, and Sancho—players who can tear apart Bayern's backline in a flash. Their speed and technique are top-class, and Bayern is very cautious of them.
To some extent, Bayern lacked the confidence to hold their defensive line.
So Flick went a different route and chose to attack the ball.
Right from the start, Bayern played aggressively, pressing high against Leeds United.
Lewandowski, Müller, Coman, and Sané all pressed Leeds United's backline hard, making it difficult to play out from the back. Leeds nearly lost the ball several times in dangerous areas.
The four attackers, combined with the two holding midfielders, formed two layers of pressing lines up front.
Flick's thinking was clear. Since the backline couldn't be trusted, and a slow build-up was risky, he wouldn't push forward slowly. He would press high and launch counter-attacks.
As long as they could win the ball and launch more counters, they could score.
With the finishing ability of players like Lewandowski and Müller, Bayern had every reason to believe this could work.
It must be said, Bayern's tactics were very focused, and their players had excellent tactical awareness and work rate. Even veteran Lewandowski was sprinting.
This forced Leeds United's forwards to drop back to help.
At one point, Sancho and Rashford had dropped all the way back to the edge of the penalty area.
That's how intense Bayern's press was.
From the start, the match became a fast-paced, end-to-end battle.
Both sides managed to create danger, but neither could score, making for an incredibly tense contest.
In that kind of atmosphere, the fans didn't even notice how much time had passed. Many completely lost track of the clock.
Both teams were constantly committing players, with the action mostly centered between the edge of Leeds United's penalty area and the midfield line. At this point, neither team had any other choice.
Bayern needed to score, so they kept pushing more players forward.
Leeds needed to defend, so they kept adding support at the back.
The only difference was that Leeds would have more space up front for counter-attacks.
That was the biggest test for both sides.
No tricks or gimmicks, just a straight-up battle of strength and execution.
It was only a matter of who would slip first.
(To be continued.)